“authors’ autistic-like desires to do nothing but sit in a cave and write”

—

My Little Rant

Maybe in the new millenium after the “grown-ups” have been reschooled on what liberalism actually is and why it keep us out of the caves that “autistic-like authors” crave to sit in … the survivors will learn not to sneer and spit upon those different from themselves. Here’s hoping.

As for Kindle, it is a derivative tool that may well be representative of a new generation of reading devices, and that to me seems exciting. But books themselves represent a very highly evolved technology. It is the irony of our recent times that so many clutched feverishly to a mythical past while simultaneously dismissing previous human accomplishments as relics waiting only for our modern gizmo touch to give them tinseled perfection.

I’m one of those cave-dwelling writers who once blinked in the glare of wisdom shining from my grown-up marketing betters. Then I realized that the advent of a new scalable dynamic environment of making books (POD) had dawned with the “grown-up” response being to join hands and sneer.

I now tend to see the Corporatized Publishing Monstrosities as sinking but oh-so-grown-up Brontosauruses smugly clearing their nostrils at the scent of the scurrying mammals flitting around the water’s edge. That’s okay, we furry critters will be just fine.

Post more often if you can, Lynne. You have the credibility to speak to the new world, Ms. Witch! You were out of the dino pool early…

That this seems to have escaped the attention of this thread is eloquent evidence of a two-class chasm that has now opened so wide nobody can see across it except from the underclass rim, through television. The got-bucks still don’t shop at Wal-Mart, even to go slumming. When they cross that bridge they’re officially the notgot-bucks, having also lost their health “insurance,” including the ridiculous Cobra sop. US society is slamming itself even harder into radical polarization with this new depression, and real books–paper, that is–and communitiy libraries and independent bookstores (no UPC’s beyond Bookland EAN barcodes) are the main hope for a long-term remedy: “Since there were books, no night is completely dark.”

Kindle is just not the incendiary spark people seem to fear it is, because the price of the hardware and the wireless bandwidth will never be right. It’s a gotbucks toy, and that class is shrinking fast. –DZ

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing (TM): David, thanks so much for leaving such a great comment. I had been thinking about that “chasm” between the haves-and-have-nots and the Kindle. What you are forgetting is that the Kindle, et al, will drop dramatically in price and be available to almost everybody — sooner, probably than later. I think we are all just beta testing right now.

Agree . . . even a little?

I agree heartily with the brother (are you a monastic?) at the beginning of this post that archives and continuity are at stake. In a few years nothing will be readable on the next generation of devices. I see that as a huge problem for the history of civilization.

An issue rarely addressed when it comes to information theft and rights is the paradigm shift embedded in this way of thinking: technology is driving ethics and in the new ethic cultural work is now by definition “amateur.” Creative work becomes just “information” that anyone can create and anyone should have “access” to. Yet someone will be making money, and it is very unlikely to be the actual creator of the work. Amazon may manage to increase its profits with tens of thousands of discounted barely used books that are available two minutes after the new work is published, but at the expense of the author and the publisher.

“The Kindle 2 is a portable, wireless, paperback-size device onto which people can download a virtual library of digitalized titles. Amazon sells these downloads, and where the books are under copyright, it pays royalties to the authors and publishers.

Serves readers, pays writers: so far, so good. But there’s another thing about Kindle 2 — its heavily marketed text-to-speech function. Kindle 2 can read books aloud. And Kindle 2 is not paying anyone for audio rights.

(Excerpt from “The Kindle Swindle?”)

This all makes for great cocktail discussion, but the truth is that physical books will always sit on shelves and libraries will hand them out for free and someone will sing someone’s songs for a paying audience without the author’s permission.

When you hear about someone “stealing” your work, you can always turn that million-dollar team of lawyers you have loose on them.

Widgits and gadgets will come and go like lava lamps. Impermanent, at best.

As the saying goes, keep the daytime job and be glad people are reading your writing. If it’s truly of value, it will make money regardless of “theft.”

I don’t see how authors’ autistic-like desires to do nothing but sit in a cave and write, rather than also aggressively promote their work, provides a licence to their publishers to bolt DRM onto electronic texts – in most cases without the author’s consent, either.

You also seem to be wilfully ignoring the evidence that giving away electronic books does nothing to harm print-book sales. Doctorow isn’t the only example; I’m another one. The example you provided – of a filmmaker – is irrelevant.

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing(TM): If you say so, Joe!

I have been involved in digital books for more than a dozen years, convinced that the future was in digitalization waiting for just the right reader friendly devices to emerge. They have at last. I had all of my previous 30 books published by major houses reverted and digitalized years ago to insure that they will never go out of print at the whim of the publisher and preserve my authorial name in cyberspace.

While I am a true and loyal friend of the paper book, one ignores the march of technology at our peril. It is inevitable that the paper book is passing from our lives and for awhile we will mourn its passing. Nevertheless, it is not the delivery system but the content that remains intact. That is what we writers do, create content in what is essentially a one on one communication system. Yes, we are going to wind up as e-book readers. As long as great content survives, don’t despair. I have written numerous articles over the years on this subject.

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing(TM): Warren is the author of 30 books including novels such as The War of the Roses and Random Hearts, and short story collections such as The Sunset Gang. He is also a playwright.

Poor Sara, Shw used to own a Kindle in very early days till she left it behind on a cab seat. In spite of broad hints, no one thought of replacing it for her and now, the downward spiral of PW. She was one of the best things that happened to PW. But I digress.

Thanks for the report on TOC. DRM is here to stay as long as there is a an ebook. There will be improved versions of the Kindle with better battery back-up etc. The central issue is, will E-readers help us to tap into a new readership? The younger generation geeks who are into gadgetry?
Epstein’s Expresso Book Machine is certainly awesome. If this gains wide acceptance, especially in the era of POD, what will happen to all the skills that we learn’t during a hard, long, grind? Setting, layout, design, quality of paper, not to mention editing and rounds of proof-reading? TOC for Publishing 2009 showed us a glimpse of the future. For some of us, it may not have been a very happy glimpse.

My central worry is that, this future may be used by the ungodly to make more people redundant in this time of the global meltdown.

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing(TM): I agree, Sridhar, that Sara was shamelessly hinting at receiving a new Kindle when she was a keynote last year at TOC. Actually, I found it funny!
Sara Nelson was not managed properly at PW. She should have been “turned loose” to say what she wanted to say and to say what needed to be said about publishing. Publishers (the sales side) don’t get it. They worry about lack of ad revenue if someone like Sara stands up and speaks her mind. IF Sara Nelson had been allowed to do that, I believe PW would have been turned around. Instead it is nosediving.